


Teach our Trial Patience

by 51PegasiB



Series: Fast Talk Verse [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Banter, Boundaries, Bruce Has Issues, Dirty Talk, Domestic, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flirting, Multi, Other, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-10
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2018-08-21 18:18:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8255635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/51PegasiB/pseuds/51PegasiB
Summary: Bruce has enough experience in romance, limited as it was, to understand a good relationship takes work. Negotiating a path through his relationship with Tony and Pepper takes a huge amount of it and pushes the boundaries of his emotional intelligence capabilities and of the relationship itself. But it's worth it (probably) and he gets a lot out of it (most days) and the sex is fantastic (absolutely). 
Relationships are about compromise and growth...neither of those are easy, but they can be good.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi folks, this story is obviously not compliant with the movie canon after IM3. I'm also swiping canon from the comics when and as I feel like it.
> 
> Also thanks to NienteZero for aiding, abetting and generally keeping me working.

Tony came swarming into the kitchen covered in oil and metal shavings. He had a clear spot around his eyes where the goggles that were now perched on his head had protected. He pulled out the coffee pot and looked into it, then made a wounded noise and looked up. "Why is there no coffee?" He asked.

Bruce, who had been reading scientific journals on his StarkPad in peace since Pepper had left at eight looked up and raised his eyebrows. "No one has made coffee." he said, simply.

"I see that," said Tony, sharply, following it up with a peck on the cheek and a frustrated look. "Why not?"

"Because Pepper said she'd get some at the office and I didn't want any today. Anyway, I bet you've had plenty in the workshop," said Bruce.

"It's never enough. Anyway, you make better coffee than Dum-E."

Bruce snorted and swiped to the next page. "I'm flattered that you've decided my culinary skills outclass that of a robot I've personally heard you describe as 'tragedy', 'overgrown tinker toy', and 'surprisingly mobile coat rack'."

"Hey! You can't talk about him like that. Only I can," said Tony. He set a fresh pot to brew and sat down by Bruce. "Watcha reading?" he asked.

"A paper by this doctor in Korea - Helen Cho," he said. "The things she's doing with accelerated regeneration are revolutionary."

"You've got that look in your eye. Want to bring her in?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to write her this afternoon."

"Come on, Bruce," said Tony in frustration. "We could have her here this afternoon."

"I have my methods same as you have yours," said Bruce, plucking the filthy goggles off Tony's head and pointedly laying them down in front of him. "Have you eaten, today?"

"You're changing the subject," said Tony.

"Yes," Bruce agreed. "And you're dodging the question."

"I had a smoothie this morning," said Tony.

"Time for lunch, then," said Bruce, pulling out veggies for a quick stir-fry.

"Ugggh. It's like having two mothers," said Tony.

"You should be so lucky," said Bruce. "Anyway, I wasn't treating you in a motherly fashion at all, last night. Neither was Pepper."

Tony's arms encircled him from behind. "Sexy, sexy mothers." He kissed Bruce's neck.

"Okay. That's super-creepy. Thanks," said Bruce, shrugging out of Tony's embrace as he added the onions to the heating pan.

Tony sighed. "Sorry." The coffee machine beeped. He poured himself a large mug of pure black brew. "I can't do anything right, today."

Bruce tried to take his coffee away, but he guarded it with both hands and a wounded look. "Must you steal all my joy?"

Bruce sighed. "What's wrong? Having tech trouble in the workshop?"

Tony groaned in response and let his head fall onto the table.

"I can always call Reed to help you out," Bruce said.

Tony groaned again. "Don't you fucking dare."

Bruce chuckled. "You know I wouldn't." He finished chopping veggies and washed his hands, then dried them so he could scritch his fingers lightly through Tony's hair.

"MMmmmflffffmmmm," said Tony, in satisfaction.

Bruce went to add more veggies to the pan, stirring and adding a few spices, then a dollop of soy sauce.

"That smells really good." said Tony, voice half-muffled by the table he was still laying on.

"It's almost done." Bruce finished it and then plated two portions, bringing them over to the counter and sliding back onto his stool next to where Tony was sitting up, again, hunched protectively over his mug.

"You're going to die of a heart-attack," said Bruce, putting down the plate in front of Tony.

"Probably," agreed Tony, taking a large swig of coffee.

"And Pepper will be sad," said Bruce.

"I should fucking well hope so," Tony took another swig.

"And so will I," said Bruce, mournfully. "We'll have to console ourselves by fucking in the huge pile of money you'll leave behind."

Tony snorted and took another sip. He wrinkled his forehead and sniffed at the mug and sipped again, suspiciously.

"We'll invite Rhodey to come live with us, to make up for all the shit he's taken from you over the years. Maybe Steve, too."

Tony looked up at Bruce in horror. "How could you?" he asked Bruce.

"Well, you have to admit, they have put up with a *lot* of shit," said Bruce in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Not that!" said Tony. "You switched my coffee for decaf. Again!"

Bruce sighed, his face settling into lines of resignation. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice."

"When have I ever *not* noticed, Bruce?" Tony asked him angrily.

"If I answer that, I'll either be admitting I slipped one by you or admitting that I can't. I abstain," said Bruce.

"Whhhyyyyy! Has ever a man been so tried as me?" Tony asked the heavens.

"If you're seeking my opinion, Sir," said Jarvis. "Yes. And much more so."

"Betrayal at every turn! The creation turns upon the scientist like the stories of old," said Tony. "Is there nothing to trust?"

"Not a thing," said Bruce. "Except that I love you."

Tony looked at him and rolled his eyes. "Love you too, cuddly cupcake cream."

Bruce groaned. "No more cutesy nicknames."

"It's for your own good, green machine."

"It is not," protested Bruce.

"Is too." said Tony. He was wolfing down his food between rebuttals.

Bruce sighed.

"I'm going back to the workshop. There's real coffee there," he said.

"As far as you know," Bruce teased.

Tony turned back and squinted at him. "You're gonna make me paranoid, Banner."

Bruce gave his best innocent smile and shrugged.

"Jarvis, find me the chemistry stuff. We're gonna analyze my coffee," Tony ordered as he headed back out of the kitchen.

Bruce laughed and cleaned up the dishes. He figured he should get started on dinner. Lunch had been pretty late and Pepper liked to eat as soon as she got home from the gym.

He had finished prepping when Pepper came in. She shrugged off her coat to reveal the yoga pants and tunic she usually wore home from the gym.

"Hey, how was your day?" he said.

She sighed and kissed him. "Fine," she said. "I'm glad to be home."

"I can tell," he said. "You didn't even dry your hair." He stroked a hand gently over her damp head. "You're gonna catch a cold."

"Unlikely," she said, swiping a blackberry and popping it into her mouth. "What's for dinner?"

"Mushroom and asparagus quinoa salad with tofu crumble and blackberry flan."

"Sounds delicious," she said.

"I do my best. It'll be ready in ten or fifteen minutes. Do you want to peel Tony out of the workshop or should I get Jarvis to activate a crowbar protocol?"

"I'll do it. I bet he needs a shower," she said.

"Dinner will be on the table by the time you guys are done."

"You're a good dream," she said to him. She stole another kiss before taking her briefcase and going out.

Bruce was grinning to himself through the rest of getting dinner on the table.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, they all retired to a pile on the sofa. Tony had his drink and a tablet. Bruce's stack of books and journals were sitting on the floor by the sofa and he had a notebook and pencil. Pepper was doing an evening sweep through of her email and making some calls.

Tony was quiet and relatively non-fidgety as he manipulated plans for something on his screen, deep in thought for a while. Then he pulled a frustrated face and tossed the tablet onto the coffee table and squirmed in between Bruce and Pepper. They ignored this performance, so he was reduced to using his words. "I'm bored."

Neither one of his cuddle companions as much as looked up.

He sighed and squirmed and flipped around till he was siting with his legs under Pepper's laptop and his head in Bruce's lap.

"Bruce?" He waited till Bruce made a noise of acknowledgment and shifted his notebook to look Tony in the eye. "I'm bored." Tony repeated.

"Yes, I heard you the first time," said Bruce and turned back to checking over whatever he had scribbled in the book.

"Bruuuce." Tony said in a tone that was not at all (dammit) a whine.

"Oh, was there more to your statement?" Bruce asked. Tony could've sworn he heard an amused snort from Pepper, but there was no trace of mirth on her face when he looked at her.

"Let's do something. We never do anything," said Tony.

"We're doing things right now, actually," Bruce pointed out.

"I mean go out and do something," Tony amended. "Somewhere with food and drinks and lights and dancing and hot people."

"The LGBT center in the Village is hosting queer country line dancing tonight," Pepper volunteered. "The two of you could go." She laughed mercilessly at Tony's wounded look and Bruce's expression of betrayed horror.

Tony groaned and rolled off the sofa onto the floor with a thud.

"Tony, what is the rule?" Bruce asked, judiciously ignoring the impending grown-up tantrum.

"It's not either of your jobs to entertain me," Tony recited.

"And so?" Bruce prompted.

"If I want attention, I should ask for it nicely," Tony said.

"Right. And you know I'm not good with last minute going-out plans. And it seems like Pepper's got more work to do," said Bruce.

"That is true," said Pepper. "But only about fifteen minutes worth. I could go out with you after that, Honey." She kicked Tony gently to clarify which 'Honey' she meant.

Tony said something that was muffled by the throw rug.

"What's that?" Bruce asked him.

"I want both of you," said Tony. "Let's play video games or watch a movie or something when Pepper is done."

"Sure," said Bruce. "I'd be happy to."

"As long as it's not one of the video games that makes me motion sick," Pepper agreed. "Or a horror film. I'm not up for that."

"Yay!" Tony sprang to his feet. "Popcorn? Ice cream?" He pointed at each of them in turn.

"Sounds good," said Bruce.

"Oh, I shouldn't," said Pepper, the longing clear in her voice.

"Fuck that," said Tony and bounded off to the kitchen to dish up the snacks.

 

* * *

 

Pepper finished her work quickly and snuggled up to Bruce. "You're like the dog-whisperer."

"Really? Cause I feel more like one of those nanny shows with the screaming kids," said Bruce.

"Not really, I hope," she said, running her fingers through Bruce's curls that were finally growing out again.

"No. Not really. Not most of the time." Bruce sighed. "He does make it into work, sometimes, though."

"Makes what into work?"

"Maintaining my boundaries."

Pepper hugged him. "Yes. He's not really good with boundaries."

"I'm not either. That's part of the problem."

"You seem good to me," said Pepper. "You're good at stating them and reinforcing them."

"Yeah, but it's always work," said Bruce. "It goes against the grain."

"Well, you're doing good work, then, Dr. Banner," said Pepper.

Bruce chuckled a little and gave her a kiss as Tony came back in with a tray of snacks.

Tony set the tray down and sat by Pepper's other side. Pepper pulled him close so that they were all leaning together. Tony nuzzled her neck.

They cuddled through a few rounds of mario kart and an episode of Cosmos. By the end of that, Tony was asleep. Bruce was teetering on the edge of following him. Pepper was poking at her phone.

"Bedtime?" Bruce asked.

"I'll be there in a bit," she said, softly.

"Come on. You need sleep to keep ruling the world," he said.

"I just have to respond to one thing. I'll be there by the time you've tucked him in and brushed your teeth," she promised.

She was true to her word, sliding into bed on the side of Tony opposite Bruce only a few minutes after they'd slid into bed themselves. Tony was already fast asleep again. She looked at Bruce over Tony's head, where he was propped up on pillows and reading on a tablet. "Did you switch his coffee for decaf again?" she whispered. He smiled and nodded, holding his finger to his lips.

She messaged him instead.

PEP: We should take him somewhere soon. He's getting antsy.

BRUCE: All right [there was an audible sigh from Bruce's side of the bed]

PEP: I promise it'll be fun. What are you doing Saturday?

BRUCE: Nothing. Saturday's good.

PEP: You know you really are a good dream.

BRUCE: Flattery will get you everywhere with me. Including, apparently, clubbing.

Pepper couldn't suppress a giggle at that. Bruce smiled at her over the head of their sleeping partner and he mouthed 'Love you' at her.

'Good dream,' she mouthed back, pointing at him. They turned the lights out and snuggled up to Tony, holding hands on his chest, where the arc reactor used to be.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What starts as a lazy & pleasant Saturday at the tower ends in an odd and stressful night for Bruce. Sometimes the rules of this new relationship are not at all clear to him.

Tony woke up in a tangle of limbs, feeling very warm and a little claustrophobic. He looked down at the jumble of tousled hair that was his two partners. There was absolutely no way to get out of bed without disturbing them. He kept very still for as long as he could (roughly one whole minute) then started to try to extricate himself. He had managed to shift Bruce without waking him, but then Pepper stirred and nuzzled his shoulder.

"Going somewhere?" she whispered.

"Bathroom," he whispered back.

"Coming back?" she whispered hopefully.

He shrugged. She pouted at him, he relented.

"Two minutes" he whispered.

She smiled beatifically at him from her halo of strawberry blonde hair. He winked at her then rushed through the necessary bits of his morning routine.

He snuck back into the room only to find Pepper had fallen asleep again and snuggled up to Bruce. He snuck back out again, and went to his workshop. Dum-E came rolling up enthusiastically to meet him and Tony patted the bot, absently. He fixed himself a smoothie and some coffee and got down to some design work.

He didn't hear Pepper when she wandered in in slippered feet. Jarvis helpfully lowered the volume of the ACDC so that she couldn't sneak up on him.

She smiled and hugged him. "It's Saturday you know."

"So? I can't work on Saturday?"

She pouted. "You want to work all day while I'm actually home?"

"Well...," he said, putting on a show of reluctance.

"Bruce is making breakfast," she wheedled.

"Squirrel food breakfast?" He demanded.

"Gluten free waffles with rum dreamsicle sauce."

The hungry noise Tony heard himself making was entirely involuntary. He kissed her then washed up and dragged her to the kitchen. Clint was sitting at one of the tall stools at the island, pestering Bruce. Tony snorted. "You tricked me. I've been tricked. I didn't sign up for team breakfast."

Pepper smacked him on the butt and gave Clint a hug and sat. "Good to see you," she said to Clint.

"Hows it hanging, Shellhead?" Clint asked with a lazy smile. He had a bandage wrapped around the knuckles of one hand and a bruise across one cheek, but gave no sign that he was in pain.

"Fantastically, Merida. How's Bed-Stuy?"

Clint shrugged. "Good."

"Just here to mooch off my food?"

"Your food?" Clint raised an eyebrow and looked over at Bruce's back, laboring over the stove and waffle iron.

"There's plenty for everyone. And there's coffee, Tony," said Bruce.

"Real coffee?" he asked suspiciously.

"I didn't make it. Clint did."

"It'll melt your esophagus," said Clint.

"I meant is it caffeinated?" said Tony.

Clint looked offended. "What do you take me for?"

"I take back every nasty thing I've ever said about you, Katniss. You're a beautiful human."

"Oh, I know. Tell the ladies," said Clint. He winked theatrically.

"I'm pretty sure the ladies have heard too," said Pepper.

"Well, how come they aren't beating down my door?" said Clint, leaning towards her.

"They've probably heard about the women who've gotten kidnapped by super-villains," she responded. She tried to steal Clint's coffee mug, but Clint kept it away from her with practiced ease.

"Hey, I get kidnapped more than any of the women I dated."

"Not really a selling point," said Tony.

"I always get free," said Clint, waggling his eyebrows at Pepper. "Even if they leave me naked. I'm like Houdini but with superpowered evil."

"Stop flirting with my girlfriend," said Tony.

"Hey, I gave you coffee, what more do you want?" Clint asked.

"I value coffee highly, but I value Pepper much more highly," Tony responded archly, before taking a long pull out of his mug.

"Oh yeah?" said Pepper. "Well, you won't catch me testing that declaration anytime soon." Contrary to her words, she took Tony's coffee mug and took a sip then shot Clint a horrified look. "This is terrible. Way too strong."

"That's superhero coffee, little missy," said Clint.

Pepper rolled her eyes. "There goes all the sexy you had. Right out the window."

Clint looked surprised. "I had sexy? My sexy was inside the house? Dammit!"

"Oh, I'll defenestrate your sexy any time you try to put the moves on my woman," Tony said.

Bruce snorted and delivered a French press to Pepper that was almost done steeping. She depressed the plunger and poured herself a mug. She sighed happily. "Now *that's* coffee," she said. She gave Bruce a kiss on the cheek.

"We're eating at the table. Pepper could you grab the bacon from the oven?"

"I will take the sauce!" Tony declared, grabbing the bowl with the sweet treat in it and sticking his finger into the middle of it.

"Gross," said Clint.

"You share pizza with your dog," Tony said.

"My dog lives cleaner than you do," Clint countered.

"Boys. Just get the food on the table. You can wrestle later," said Bruce, handing Clint the plate of waffles and collecting the teapot.

"I'll wrestle whoever you want if you make enough of this sauce to do it in," said Tony.

"That'd be a waste of food," said Bruce.

"I didn't say I was actually going to wrestle in it. Just that I wanted like...that much."

Bruce shook his head, but he snickered, too. Tony grinned and stole a kiss.

They were silent at the table for a good ten minutes while the first helping disappeared.

"Bruce this is so good," said Clint, finally, reaching out for another stack of waffles and the bowl of sauce at the same time.

"Many thanks," he said. "The waffle recipe is from the internet. The sauce was...a family recipe."

Tony didn't comment, but he reached over and squeezed Bruce's knee under the table. He knew Bruce didn't like to talk about his mom -- even the good stuff.

Bruce gave him a grateful look and sipped his tea.

* * *

After breakfast, Clint and Tony turned on Mario Kart and Bruce tried to sneak off to his lab, but Pepper cut him off at the kitchen door.

"It's Saturday," she reminded him. "No working."

"I bet you spent two hours answering emails before breakfast," Bruce countered.

"Only one hour," she said. "And I did it in my pajamas, therefore it doesn't count as work."

Bruce smiled and hugged her. "Maybe you should wear your pajamas to the office. You'd never have to work again."

"Given some of the shit that's happened in the past few years, I doubt it'd drive the stock price down," she said.

He chuckled drily.

"You know what you're gonna wear tonight?" she asked him.

Bruce sighed and fidgeted. "I was hoping we'd forgotten about that."

"You know he'll love it," she said.

Bruce shrugged.

"So...*do* you know what you're going to wear?" she asked.

"Why?" Bruce asked, pulling back and giving her a suspicious look.

"I was thinking I could take you shopping and help you pick something out."

"Oh god. Pepper. Please don't make me go shopping and clubbing in the same day."

"I will do all the work. All you'll have to do is look pretty and follow me."

He sighed. "Pepper...."

"And I promise I will make it up to you this afternoon."

He closed his eyes. "Why take me shopping? I have clothes. You bought most of them."

"I want to show you off at your best." She ran her fingers through his hair. He leaned into the gentle touch.

"Will you and Tony ever get tired of dressing me up for each other?"

"Hmmm...probably not," she said. "Can you put up with it?"

"Do I have to understand it?" he asked her with a small smile.

"Nope. Just humor us."

"That I can do," he said.

"I'll get dressed. Clint will keep Tony busy," she said and brushed a kiss on his cheek.

He trailed along with her to gather up his satchel and his glasses, then sprawled on the bed with his be-shoed feet hanging off the edge while Pepper pulled her outfit together.

It always impressed him how together she always looked. He'd learned, over months of watching her, that she was also almost always perfectly dressed for the mood and formality of a given situation. He couldn't have even defined the differences in her looks, but he could recognize an instrument well-played when he experienced it, nevertheless.

She emerged from her closet in a flowy blouse and a fitted skirt, her hair pulled back in a crisp pony tail an a large purse slung over one arm.

"Leave your bag and your wallet. I told you, this is on me," she said.

"But..." Bruce opened his bag and looked forlornly at his tablet and his journals.

"Saturday. No working. How many times do I have to say it?"

He sighed.

"You can bring your phone," she said. "But if you ignore me for it I'm buying you the leather pants you wouldn't let Tony buy you last week and you're wearing them tonight."

"I could never ignore you," he reeled her in and tilted his chin up to kiss her.

"Mmmm...maybe I should get you platform boots," she said.

"And leave Tony the shortest? That'd drive him crazy."

"MMmm," she agreed. "In more ways than one. Come on. Let's go shopping."

Bruce dutifully trailed after her in stores he had never heard of and tried things on when she handed them to him. She kept up a happy stream of chatter and questions and he barely looked at his phone at all.

By the end of the trip, they had quite a handful of bags and he was sure she'd bought more than one evening's worth of clothes, which Pepper conceded as soon as he asked.

"Well, I did get some extra things," she said.

"What *sorts* of things?"

"You'll see," she said, cheerily. She went into his closet, presumably to hang things up, then into her own, coming back out in yoga pants, bare feet and a tank top. She stretched with relish, hands in the air, her hair askew and looking so much more free and easy than she had in her shopping outfit.

He grinned at her, from his perch on the edge of the bed.

"Now, I seem to recall that you promised to make it up to me if I let you take me shopping," he said.

"I did," she said. She smiled lazily and moved towards him with slow rolls of her hips. He leaned back on his elbows and grinned as she stalked onto the bed, straddling his hips. She had just pinned him down and started kissing him slowly and deeply before Tony came bursting through the door.

"You ditched me."

Pepper sighed. "We just went to pick up some things."

"You ditched me and left me with Katniss."

"You were having fun," said Bruce.

"Not as much as you're about to have," Tony protested.

"Well, in or out. We're not having any fun with you just looming there," said Pepper.

Tony grinned and stripped with alacrity. Pepper turned her focus back to Bruce, cutting off his eye-roll with a deep kiss. Bruce felt the bed depress by his shoulder and Tony's mouth replaced Pepper's. Tony kissed him fervently as Pepper's weight disappeared from his hips and her nimble fingers undid his fly and slid his slacks off of him.

He moaned as the press of Pepper's body returned, flesh to flesh this time. The brush of the smooth, damp skin between her legs sent an electric thrill down his spine

He moaned, half-into Tony's mouth.

Tony leaned back to grin, "God I love seeing you like this." he said to Bruce.

Bruce could only stare at him, panting as Pepper slid a condom onto him and then carefully lowered herself onto his cock. She was panting now, too, her lips glistening and parted as she wrapped him in heat. Thighs tensing as she moved. He watched it like he could crystalize it...encase it in resin and keep it forever.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Tony murmured in his ear, then nipped at the earlobe. "Gorgeous and talented and riding your dick like it's the last chariot out of Pompeii." Tony's hand slid up over his belly, stroking and teasing at his body hair.

"I love her when she's like this. I love you when you're like this. I love getting to watch," Tony whispered, and mouthed at his neck, his tongue painting a stripe of sparks on the skin on one side of Bruce's adam's apple where his pulse thundered. "Fuck. Look at you both. Beautiful. Her polished and perfected and you wild and perfect. I mean, you're kind of a bear, but she's the one who goes after you like a wild animal."

Bruce closed his eyes and let Tony's words wash over him as the sensations of Pepper's thighs clenching around his hips and her wet heat wrapping him in tight pleasure washed over his skin and washed everything out of his brain except _this, here, now_.

His hands sought Pepper's hips and he slowed the pace, wanting to draw this out...an eternal now where he perfectly inhabited his own skin and all the loving contact made him feel whole. The build was coming in spite of himself. He came like fire sweeping over a plain, quick and all-consuming.

As he let his muscles go slack he could finally hear Tony, again, over his pulse in his own ears. "Beautiful," he was saying. "So fucking gorgeous. Damn you two. You're gonna kill me the pair of you."

Pepper kissed Bruce, who held her there for a moment to savor it, then let Tony steal her. Bruce held onto the base of the condom as Pepper slid off him and rolled away to dispose of it as she slid down onto Tony's cock with a soft noise.

Bruce took a moment to wash up, but came back to watch as Tony had watched. He knew he wasn't as good at dirty talk as Tony was -- no one was as good at talking as Tony was -- so instead he laid down next to Tony and pulled on his hair with a sharp movement.

"You like that?" he whispered. "Being inside her after me?"

Tony groaned. "Fuck, yes."

"You'd love it if you were fucking her through my load right now, wouldn't you? Love it if I shot off inside your woman?" This was dangerous territory because Pepper was most definitely her own woman, but Bruce decided to risk it, since he was theoretically the one being indulged this afternoon.

Tony's eyes went wide and he gasped, "Fuck, yes," again.

"Or maybe you could eat it out of her," Bruce said low. "Lay her back and lap me out of her pussy."

"Fuuuck, Bruce," he said.

Bruce kissed him hungrily before sitting up and straddling Tony's legs behind Pepper. He reached around to finger her clit while she ground against Tony slowly. He kissed her neck and told her how beautiful and perfect she was till she came. Tony was staring at them like he was entranced by the sight of the two of them moving together. When Pepper's legs went slack, Bruce helped her roll to one side, where she clung to Tony as Bruce slid down between his legs and swallowed him deep.

Tony made a hoarse noise and came in no time flat, spilling in Bruce's mouth. He smiled and slid up Tony's body to kiss him, then kiss Pepper while still laying sprawled out over Tony's sticky skin.

Tony lay there limply for a minute while Bruce and Pepper slowly kissed. Then his fingers stroked through both of their hair. "Well, now I need a shower. And more food. Like all the food. I feel like some kind of fucking pagan deity."

"Don't you mean a pagan fucking deity?" Pepper asked him with a giggle.

"Whatever," said Tony. "I'm a god of sex. I'm just glad I have a congregation of two who know it and are ready to kneel down to my magnificent penis."

Bruce leaned up to look at Tony then shared a look with Pepper and the two of them burst out laughing.

"Hey, now, hey!" Tony protested. "You don't get to laugh at my cock and use me as a pillow at the same time." He rolled them off.

"It's not your cock we were laughing at," protested Pepper, trying to suppress her gigglefit.

"Yeah, it's the other head that's risible," said Bruce.

Tony rolled his eyes and playfully cuffed Bruce in the back of the head.

"Shower! Food! Do we have anything? Should I order?" He said.

"Well, Bruce and I talked about it and we thought we could go out," said Pepper, carefully not looking at Bruce.

"Seriously?" Tony's face lit up. "Sweet. Showers for everyone. Jarvis, get us put on the list at that place I read about the other day."

"I thought we could do dinner and maybe a club," Pepper added.

"Oh fuck, was this bribery sex? Did I just bribe Bruce without my knowledge?" Tony asked.

"Would it bother you if you had?" Bruce asked him, accepting a hand up out of bed and offering Pepper his hand in turn to pull her up.

"No, but I wish I had known. It would've made it hotter," Tony grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

Bruce snorted.

"We'll just have to bribe him into something else later," said Pepper.

They piled into the substantial shower and got clean surprisingly quickly, given all the distractions. Bruce put on the outfit Pepper laid out for him. He didn't see what was so special about it, but Tony clearly did. His eyes lit up and he nuzzled Bruce's neck through the gap in the open collar.

"I will never understand what turns you on about this," said Bruce, tugging at the jacket that didn't look quite like a sport coat, but didn't quite look like a jacket you'd wear for warmth either, to him.

"Well, don't let anyone fool you, Doctor," said Tony, leaning back to sweep a critical eye over him. "Fashion is great but it's definitely the man who makes the clothes."

Bruce was putting his shoes on (also new, but not the platforms Pepper had threatened him with) when Pepper slid out of her closet in a short dress made of a rich blue fabric. Bruce didn't know what kind of dress it was, but it draped in some places and clung in others and made her look like a cross between Aphrodite and a very, very high priced call girl.

Tony looked like somebody smacked him - just stunned by the sight of her. She slipped into tall gold heels and picked up a tiny gold purse.

"Are you two ready?" she asked.

Tony cocked his head and grinned. "Ready to follow you anywhere in that."

"I don't know. Am I?" Bruce stood and spun around.

She smiled and nodded. "You look fantastic."

"So do you," he said, feeling a little sheepish to be included with these glowing people.

"So do you, honey," Pepper said to Tony.

"Blah blah blah we're beautiful people. Let's go!" Tony said and herded them all out the door.

***

The restaurant wasn't so bad. Almost low key compared to the first date he'd ever had with Pepper and Tony. No meal they'd had together would ever match that one for awkward.

But here, the atmosphere was chill, the food was excellent and the New Yorkers all determinedly ignored celebrities in their midst.

The club they went to afterwards was a different story. There were paparazzi outside and inside the place throbbed with light and noise. Tony went straight to the bar and got them all drinks. When he brought them back and Bruce took a cautious sip of his, he was grateful to find it had no alcohol in it.

Tony signed a few autographs (some on body parts) while downing his drink and then dragged them out onto the dance floor. He and Pepper comported themselves with minimal shame, but Bruce felt woefully out of place. He felt old. He felt like a third wheel. He felt hapless and awkward like a high school dance.

He gave it his best though and tried to keep smiling for about a half an hour of dancing, before eventually leaning over to shout at them that he was going for another drink.

He made his way to the bar, got the bartender's attention by waving money (just like some television douchebag) and then paid way too much for a glass of fruit juice and ginger ale and retreated to the wall.

He even secured a seat at a tall table when a few folks vacated it. He thought he was finally safe before someone plopped into the stool opposite him. It was a tall, slim woman - not someone he recognized.

"Hey," she said with a smile. She leaned forward across the table.

"Uh, hey," he responded, quirking one side of his mouth up uncertainly. She was young and pretty and well dressed. He had no idea why she'd be here smiling at him.

"My name is April," she said.

"Uh, Bruce," he offered a hand for her to shake.

"You here alone?" she asked.

"Ah, no...here with friends. I..uh...got tired of dancing."

"Oh I hear you Bruce," she said. She tossed her hair over one shoulder and leaned her head to the side. "This whole scene it gets so old, you know?"

He did not. "Sure," he said.

"What do you do, Bruce?" she kept looking right at his eyes. He found it disconcerting and tried to smile at her and fight the urge to just stare at his drink...or at her breasts which were getting more visible the more she leaned forward.

"I uh...I'm a scientist."

"Oh, seriously?" she asked. "I LOVE science."

"Oh...that's good," he said, a little helplessly. He glanced over towards the dance floor, but couldn't find Pepper and Tony at first glance.

"Totally. I had this great teacher...Mr. Wainwright. He used to tell us about stars and fission and forces and particles and stuff."

Bruce smiled more genuinely at her jumbled summation of physics. "Sounds like a lot to learn."

"Oh, totally," she said.

"Well, uh...what do you do?" he asked as the conversation lulled and there was still no sign of his dates.

"I like, work at this great boutique in Alphabet city. They have the cutest stuff. And like, I'm part time managing right now, but they're gonna look at promoting me to buyer next year. Like, the owner says I have an eye."

"Nice. Uh..." he said. It suddenly hit him that he could use an old faculty fundraising party fallback "Do you enjoy that?"

"Oh, totally," she said. "I love helping people like, find the right thing for them, you know? Cause everyone is so different. I like that."

Bruce nodded thoughtfully. He realized that the faculty fundraiser party conversational gambits were designed for parties where you could walk away from your conversation partner after a few minutes. He had nothing to keep this going.

"So like...my friends are probably going to be hanging out later tonight. You should totally swing by."

"Oh, I, uh...I don't think I can," he said. "I don't want to ditch my friends."

"You can totally bring them," she said, quickly. "Anyway, you should take my number and like...text me in case you can make it."

She held out her hand and he punched in his access code and handed it over, watching as she put in her name and a few digits and even took a picture of herself to use in his contact list. She grinned as she handed the phone back. "There. Now you can't forget me," she said.

He smiled through the blistering haze of unreality the evening was turning into. "I wouldn't be likely to forget you."

She grinned and smacked his arm. "You are too cute."

Finally, Tony came into view, with Pepper and a fresh round of drinks. "Hey green machine," he said and put down another mocktail in front of Bruce. "Who is this lovely lady?"

Bruce introduced April, whose eyes had gone incredibly wide at the sight of Tony and Pepper.

"Oh my GOD," she said as she shook their hands.

"I can say with great authority, you've picked the second-best guy in the place to flirt with," said Tony, clapping Bruce on the shoulder.

"She was just being nice, Tony. There's no need to give her a hard time," said Bruce.

"I have to steal him, now, I hope you'll forgive me," he said, conspiratorially to April. "Don't worry. I'll try to talk him into coming out again. He's not usually into it, but he should be, shouldn't he?"

"Oh my god. Yes. You totally should," she said with glee. "It's fun."

"See, when he complains next time, I'll remind him of this very moment," he said, taking April's arm and steering her towards the bar, as Pepper slipped in across from Bruce and sipped her drink.

"What just happened?" Bruce asked.

"Well, a girl was flirting with you and Tony got jealous when he saw you seal the deal."

"What deal? There was no deal." said Bruce.

"Well you got her number, didn't you?" Pepper asked with a grin.

"I..." Bruce stopped. "I mean...she wanted me to come and hang out with her and her friends later."

"Yeah. That's code for hang out...in my pants. You know that, right?" she asked him, still smiling.

"Well, but...I...I mean..." he swung his head around to look at her where Tony was laughing and buying drinks in a gaggle of her friends. He looked back at Pepper in horror. "I am old enough to be her dad."

Pepper arched a perfect eyebrow. "And hot enough to be her daddy, apparently."

Bruce coughed violently. "Please, Pepper. That's a horrifying notion."

Pepper laughed brightly. Tony sidled back over with a plate of fries and some beers. He gulped down the first drink he'd left behind, then took a long pull at a beer before attacking the fries.

"That girl wants a little green in her," he said. "She wants it very much."

Bruce felt as though he must be turning the color of beets. He shook his head and gazed at his drink.

"Oh yes. Bruce remains unconvinced, but everyone else knows," said Pepper.

"She said you didn't give her your number, big guy."

"I didn't see why she'd want it," said Bruce.

"Sexting...booty calls... a life of blissful man-riding?" suggested Tony.

Bruce choked on his fruit juice. "What IS it with you two, tonight? Do you honestly think I don't get enough at home?" Bruce asked. "I'm very happy."

"That doesn't preclude wanting something extra," said Pepper.

"Or someone," said Tony.

"A new adventure, renewed energy..."

"Fresh meat," Tony suggested.

Bruce rolled his eyes and shook his head. Tony grinned and tried to hand him one of the beers. Bruce shook his head again and pushed it back across the table.

"You have one sometimes at home..." Tony said.

"It's different," he said.

"Well finish your weird nondrink and come dance with me."

"You should dance with Pepper," Bruce said.

"Pepper is tired," said Pepper.

"Come on, don't be a killjoy, Bruce," Tony wheedled.

Bruce finished a drink and suffered himself to be dragged onto the floor. Tony was increasingly touchy feely the more he'd had to drink, and he didn't seem to mind when April and some of her friends came to join them on the floor. Bruce was afraid to touch April, but she had no qualms about touching him.

Bruce was feeling panicky, seeing no graceful way out of the situation. He felt something warm against his back and nearly jumped out of his skin before Pepper slid into view. She ruffled his hair then slid around behind April. She locked eyes with Bruce and trailed her mouth along April's neck. April seemed happy enough with that arrangement. She smiled and leaned to give Pepper more room to work, then tilted her face to kiss Bruce.

Bruce fled. He ran into the bathroom, where the attendant gave him a strange look as he bolted into a stall.

"Jesus, Banner. Get a grip," he muttered.

He heard a familiar step outside. "Bruuuce," Tony's voice rang out in the small space.

"I'm here."

"Come on out, Brucey bear," he said.

"I can't deal with this," Bruce said back.

"With what?" Tony asked.

"Can we not talk about this here?" Bruce asked.

Tony sighed. "Sure thing. Look, should I call the car?"

Bruce opened the stall door and looked him in the eye. "I'd very much like to go home."

Tony looked disappointed and nodded. "Sure. Sure thing, Bruce."

"But you and Pepper don't have to come home. You're having fun."

"When will you learn it's never as much fun without you?" Tony slung an arm around him and tossed a $50 at the bathroom attendant, even though the guy hadn't done anything.

He swept through the dance floor, collecting Pepper on their way to the door. April was nowhere to be seen. Bruce scanned the crowd for her. Pepper leaned in "She's okay -- getting drinks with her friends."

He squeezed her hand in reply.

They dashed out, into the car. The paparazzi had mostly gone. The driver took them home quickly and quietly. Bruce pulled away from them, quickly getting out of his club clothes and slinging on some old yoga pants and a t-shirt. He retreated from the bedroom while they were still carefully disrobing and ensconced himself in his study.

It wasn't long before Tony was popping his head in. "You want to talk, Brucie?"

"Not while you've been drinking," Bruce replied flatly.

"Tomorrow, then?"

"I guess." Bruce shrugged.

"You're freaking me out, Bruce. Come on, you love me." Tony jittered in the door-frame, running his fingers over the hole where the bolt slid home.

Bruce just sighed. "Yes, Tony, but I don't have much energy for reassuring you right now."

"Do you need...uh... reassurance?" Tony asked.

"Maybe..." Bruce looked him in the eye. "Are we crazy? What are we doing here?"

Tony took a deep breath. "Having a relationship, I'm reliably informed."

"What if...?" Bruce trailed off.

"What if what, Sugar? Come on. Spill." Tony moved into the room and sat beside Bruce on the tatami mats in his meditation corner. When Bruce didn't immediately respond, Tony reached out a hand and stroked his back.

"What if I can't do this?" Bruce asked quietly.

Tony looked grave "Do what, exactly, Bruce?"

"What if I can't play this by your rules?"

"Well then we'll throw 'em out and get a new set," Tony gave him a tight smile.

"What if I can't do this at all?" Bruce asked. He couldn't look Tony in the eye. He concentrated instead on the movements of his mouth. It turned down, now, for a flash of time, before the corners turned upwards into the sort of grin Tony plastered on for interviews.

"You're already doing it, Big Guy."

"Tony, I'm serious," his own voice came out hoarse and strange to his ears. He felt like the words were almost too thick to get out of his throat.

Tony suddenly hugged him close. "I know you are, and it's scaring the crap out of me. What would happen? We'd be heartbroken. Pepper would cry. I would drink. We'd both throw ourselves into work. We'd be miserable for a while."

A chuckle was forced out of Bruce at that. "A while, huh? And then you'd get over me"

Tony leaned back to stare into his eyes. He could make his eyes huge and moist like some kind of Disney woodland creature. It made it almost impossible not to get sucked into his emotional maelstrom.

"Never," Tony said, in a shaky voice. And then, with conviction, "Never."

Bruce felt something well up from the pit of his stomach at that and threaten to drown him from the inside. He couldn't respond in the face of that emotion. Instead he pulled Tony close again.

Tony held him tightly for a bit before asking, "Coming to bed?"

"In a few. I need to...take a little bit. Just need to soothe the savage beast." Bruce tapped a finger to his own head.

"Well, don't sleep on the sofa in here, again. You're too old for that shit," said Tony, getting up. He paused at the door. "You will come to bed?"

"I promise," said Bruce.

"Good," said Tony.

Alone again, Bruce cycled through some basic breathing stuff, centering himself in his body. He tried to let go of all the feelings of the evening. The anger he had felt was not a kind he liked. It was rooted in confusion and embarrassment. These were definitely not arenas where the Hulk's skill set could be brought to bear.

In fifteen minutes or so, he felt better...rooted, breathing and growing. He padded in to bed where Pepper and Tony were talking softly in the dark. He slid under the covers on one side, sandwiching Pepper between Tony and himself. She gathered him close and stroked his hair.

"Okay?" she asked, softly.

He nodded against her shoulder. "Talk tomorrow."

"Do you mean fight tomorrow?" she asked.

He sighed. "Maybe, but constructively."

"Okay," she seemed to relax at that. "Love you," she whispered.

"Love you, too."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Better boundaries? Better flirting? Bruce definitely has a Sunday full of self-examination and sex.

Bruce woke up moderately early the next morning. For a change, Tony and Pepper were still both snoozing beside him. Possibly, Bruce suspected, because they had had a lot more to drink than he had.

He slipped out without disturbing them, Tony having curled around Pepper on his other side in the middle of the night. Bruce went through his Sunday morning routine, which differed from his everyday routine of stretches, meditation and exercises only by the addition of watering the plants in his den.

He had made breakfast for himself, eaten it, and was making notes on an article he'd been asked to review for a journal by the time Tony hazily arrived in the kitchen, hair still askew.

"Morning," Tony said.

"Good morning," Bruce replied with a somewhat tight smile.

"I promised Pepper coffee in bed."

"Well, that was sweet of you."

"Will you...uh...she likes your coffee best."

Bruce sighed. "She likes your coffee fine, Tony." He picked himself up and left Tony behind, filling the monstrous espresso machine he made his own coffee in with the medium roast Pepper liked best.

The night's sleep had given him some perspective. He wasn't feeling as lost or anxious as he had been the night before, but he was still feeling angry. (Always.) He went down to the workshop and clicked away at the workstation on his desk in one corner. He wrote up his review and sent that off and then clicked through the things that other folks thought he should know about, writing quick emails where he thought he could help quickly and saving the rest for serious study on Monday.

He had actually gotten through everything he intended to do without Tony or Pepper coming down to look for him. He had been flipping through Tony's project folder when he realized he had been expecting them to come roust him out. If they hadn't, they were actually waiting for him to initiate, which is the sort of respect he wished they always gave his boundaries. He sighed and went upstairs to hunt for them, his shoulders feeling tight.

They were having breakfast (of a kind, plain yogurt and buttered toast hardly counted as a decent breakfast in his opinion, but they were adults and he was not their mother) at the dining room table. Tony still in his pajama bottoms and Pepper in her winter Sunday usual of yoga pants and a sweatshirt with cuffs and collar cut off.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," Pepper answered. She reached out to squeeze his hand as he sat down. He smiled at her.

Tony smiled at him, kind of tentatively.

"So..." said Pepper, and looked at him expectantly.

"Well..." Bruce said. He took a deep breath. "So...I wasn't ready for that...last night."

"Weren't ready for what, exactly?" Tony said. He seemed to be swallowing the torrent of words that would usually follow the question.

Bruce closed his eyes and took a breath, thinking back to last night. "Well, I think...I can't handle being teased...about someone maybe finding me attractive, for one."

"We tease you all the time," Tony protested.

"But not about that. And we don't have to," Pepper squeezed his hand again.

"That was too much like...things that always used to happen," Bruce said. He opened his eyes and looked at Pepper, who looked sad, then at Tony, who was turning white.

"Oh god, not like..." Tony didn't finish the sentence. He'd learned not to evoke the name of Brian Banner early on in the relationship.

"No, no, Tony!" Bruce reached out and took his hand now, so the three of them were sitting with hands linked. "Just...the normal high school bullshit. It's still hard for me to believe it ever...happens, even with you two here every day and I just...it really felt like you were making fun of me like none of it could be true."

Pepper squeezed his hand again. Tony huffed a sigh and gave Bruce an impatient look. "You know it is happening. Like...right now."

"I know up here," Bruce took his hand away from Pepper's to tap on his head, "but not in here." He tapped his heart and slid his fingers back in between hers.

"What else?" Pepper asked quietly.

"I am not sure I want to date anyone else. I mean...I know we've talked about this before and I'm fine if you two want to do it, but I'm not sure I can or if I want to."

"Well, you certainly don't need to," said Pepper.

Tony was tensing up. Bruce raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm not sure I feel right dating other people if you're not," said Tony.

"Well, that's as may be, but it's fine by me, really," said Bruce. "I'm just...I'm not the same as you, Tony."

"Well, but what if I feel guilty?" Tony pushed.

"We can talk about that, if you want. I'm happy to try to help you through it, but please don't push me." Bruce said.

"Okay. I can do that. I can...unpush," said Tony. "I just...you really don't mind me talking about it...if you're not?"

"Nope," said Bruce. "Honestly, anyone you're dating, Pepper and I will just send them a sympathy bouquet and add them to the Tuesday drinks and bitching night."

Tony snorted and smiled. Bruce knew that he took joking as a symbol that it was, indeed, all going to be okay.

"In the interests of uh...not pushing," said Pepper, "I feel I should admit something."

She was speaking in such a small voice that Bruce looked at her somewhat alarmed.

"I uh...I'm having coffee with April tomorrow," she said.

"Uh...what?" Bruce asked.

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because I liked her and I think I might offer her a job, so I want to get to know her a little better."

"A job doing what?" Bruce asked, confused.

"Hm...stylist or personal shopper," she said. "I'm not sure. But tomorrow's coffee isn't formal or anything."

"I...oh. Okay," Bruce closed his eyes. He wasn't even sure what the implications of that were.

"She just means you might bump into the girl around here, Bruce. That's all," said Tony.

"Oh, uh...that's fine. I'm sure once she sees me in daylight..." Bruce said, before Tony cut him off.

"She is likely to be just as attracted to you as she was the other night, Bruce. Speaking here as both your friend and as someone who finds you attractive: it doesn't just wear off."

Bruce closed his mouth.

"So you're going to need something to say to her," said Pepper.

"Uh...you mean...?"

"To let her down easy," Tony supplied.

Bruce sighed and rubbed his face. "I wish I could just say I was taken."

"You could," said Pepper.

"But then the question of 'by whom' might come up, and that's complicated," said Bruce.

Tony shrugged. "So tell her the truth. Or don't tell her. It's your life, big man. You gotta live it and you can't live it all just worrying about the press."

"He's right," said Pepper. "But you could also tell her that you don't date someone with such an age gap. Though adding how flattered you are to that might soften the blow."

"Oh, good point," said Bruce. "We also...don't have much in common, she and I, from what little I found out about her."

"Some people don't care about that," said Tony.

"I really...are you guys sure she was flirting with me?" Bruce asked. He had his phone out, staring at April's number.

"Definitely...even before she tried to kiss you in the middle of the dance floor," said Pepper.

"Oh..uh...right," said Bruce. He had blocked that out, somehow. "Well, that seems like a pretty definitive piece of evidence."

"Look, Bruce. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," said Tony, leaning in to rest a hand on his shoulder. "But you should at least learn the signs so you know what you're not getting into."

Bruce looked at him. "How can I do that? What happened last night may never happen again."

"Oh yes, it fucking will," said Tony.

"I mean..." Bruce started to protest.

"It really will," said Pepper. "It's not just how cute you are. You've also now got money and power. And you always had brains. Those are all big turn-ons."

"I don't...*you guys* have money and power, not me."

"Bruce. You work for the company," said Pepper. "You make a salary. You hang out with us. I'm afraid that all counts."

Bruce sighed. "Maybe I could just...never go anywhere in Manhattan again."

"How would you get your ridiculous hippy tea?" Tony protested.

"Or visit farmer's markets?" Pepper added.

"Or go to all your thrift stores to build your monument to fashion tragedies?"

"Or use the university libraries?" Pepper asked.

Bruce had to laugh. "All right, all right. I will work on internalizing the possibility that people might actually find me attractive."

"Hey! I find you attractive," said Tony.

"I mean people who can't understand my dissertation," said Bruce.

"I find you attractive, too," said Pepper. Her eyes danced with laughter when he turned to look at her.

"All right. All right. I concede," said Bruce.

"You'd better," said Tony.

"So last night we did what Tony wanted to do," said Pepper. "Is there anything in particular you'd like us all to do today, Bruce?"

"I wouldn't mind a lazy day," he said. "I thought I might go for a swim."

"I'm in," said Tony. "A swim and a steam would feel good."

"Mmmmm....Do you guys mind if I have Eugenio in this afternoon?" Pepper asked. Eugenio was her favorite massage therapist. Bruce sometimes got uncomfortable with random people in the house, but he was getting used to Eugenio.

"Doesn't bother me," said Bruce.

"Whatever keeps the lady happy," Tony added.

Bruce thought about the whole dating and attraction question as his intented laps of the pool disintegrated into a splash fight with Tony which Pepper ultimately won by doing a cannonball between the two of them.

He was still thinking about it when he retired to a sunny corner of his den with a book. He had never seriously believed he'd be able to have a relationship again after the Hulk and after what had happened with Betty. He still felt guilty, sometimes, that he hadn't gone back to find her instead of dating someone new. But she was married to someone nice and stable and smart and if Bruce digitally stalked him a little just to make sure that he was still being good for her, that wasn't too far out of line, was it?

But dating...like dating around? That wasn't really...he'd never thought it would be in his cards. As he thought about whether it could be again, he realized something.

"I wouldn't want to date anyone who didn't know," he said, when he found Tony in the gym.

"Didn't know about the Hulk?" Tony asked.

"Well yeah, that, but also who didn't know about us."

"Oh," Tony grabbed the heavy bag to stop it swinging and looked at Bruce. "Okay."

"That means to date someone I'd have to trust them. And you would too."

"Oh...that's a high bar, honey," said Tony.

"I know," said Bruce, looking deep into his eyes.

"Oh." Tony repeated. Bruce leaned in to kiss him. They showered together and went to find a boneless Pepper who was laid out on the bed in her typical post-Eugenio puddle.

* * *

Tony and Bruce laid next to her on the bed making out for fifteen full minutes before she seemed prepared to join them. She was still languid and loose as Tony kissed her, then Bruce, then Tony again.

When Bruce moved down to put his mouth on her breast and Tony's finger stroked its way up her thighs, she squirmed with pleasure. When Tony sank his cock deep into her she let out a satisfied sigh. Bruce kept kissing her periodically, then leaning up to whisper things in Tony's ear that made him breathe sharply then grin like a shark. Bruce disappeared and then returned behind Tony. Pepper could tell when he slid into him because Tony tensed above her and let out a long, slow moan.

Then Bruce was driving the pace, pushing Tony deep into her with every thrust. Tony didn't take long to come under those circumstances. He couldn't take much thrusting from Bruce once he came down a little from the high of orgasm, so Bruce rolled off of him, he rolled off of Pepper, and Pepper took the opportunity to climb onto Bruce's hips and ride him till she came. He, miraculously, had not. She looked inquiringly at him then slid down his body. Tony was cuddled up next to Bruce as she took him into her mouth. Bruce's breathing was shallow and quick and his eyes swung between Tony and Pepper as though he still couldn't believe this was happening, after all the time they'd spent. It broke Pepper's heart a little to see him still so uncertain.

When Bruce finally did come he was almost silent. The tension in his body was the main indication. He pressed up off the bed, his head thrown back into the pillow, skin glowing with the rush of his pulse.

Pepper thought he was beautiful. She just wished he believed that.

She got up to kiss Tony over where Bruce lay, panting. Bruce drew her into a kiss, next. "Thank you," he whispered into her hair.

"The pleasure was all mine," she said.

"Well, not *all* hers," Tony insisted, insinuating himself into Bruce's other arm.

Bruce laughed.

Pepper giggled and snuggled closer in to Bruce as she let herself really relax, again. This was her idea of the perfect Sunday afternoon.

The boys both zonked out once they were done with sex. She rolled her eyes at them as she snuck out of the room to check some emails and see if she couldn't get a head start on her week, but when she located her laptop she thought _fuck it_ and texted Natasha.

PP: Feel like coming over for drinks?

NR: Sure. Up in 5.

Pepper found some music to put on and pulled out a bottle of a nice malbec that Tony had picked up a few cases of somewhere recently and pulled some chips and salsa out.

By the time Natasha was at the door, Pepper was able to hand over a glass of wine and usher her in with a smile.

"You look like you've had a good day," said Natasha.

"Eugenio was here," Pepper said. "And the boys were behaving."

"Oh? Behaving or beeee-haaay-ving?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know which is which, but they used their grown-up words then their grown up parts, so maybe both?" Pepper giggled.

"Good for you," Nat said and raised her glass in a toast.

"How about you? Any romance on the horizon? Did Jim take you out again?"

"We've barely been in the same city since the last time, but I don't think it's gonna...it's not right for a real thing," said Natasha. "He's just too..." she shrugged.

"Too boy-scouty?"

Natasha nodded. "Sweet man. Will make someone a good boyfriend or husband. But not so much for me."

"Too bad," said Pepper. "I'd have loved to double-date, sometime."

Natasha laughed openly. "Pepper how are you so...?"

"So what?"

"So like....you?"

Pepper laughed herself. "Lifelong practice."

"You're just...you're like someone from television," said Natasha.

"Huh?" Pepper looked at her quizzically.

"Just so...you're like you're supposed to be. Like...don't take this the wrong way, but you're just so...normal."

"Tell that to my mom. She still can't get her head around me living with two men," said Pepper wryly.

"No, I just mean...you've had the experiences you're supposed to have had. You've done the things you're supposed to do. You know how to react to things and have the right...feelings."

Pepper blinked at her. She still wasn't sure what Nat meant. "You never seemed weird to me. Suspicious, sometimes, but not weird," she said.

Natasha just shook her head. "Sorry. I don't think I'm saying it well. I really don't mean any offense and I don't mean to beg for any sympathy. You just interest me. That's all."

"Thanks, I guess?" Pepper said.

Natasha shrugged and smiled her half-smile.

They talked about their plans for the next few weeks and the various other folks in their lives. They were well into fashion by the time either of the guys staggered out. Bruce came first. "Mind if I lurk, or is this a gender-exclusive drinking party?"

"Lurk away," Natasha said, after glancing at Pepper.

"I'll go grab my book," said Bruce.

Before he got back, Tony came yawning in in nothing but his pajama pants. "Hi honey," he said, pecking Pepper on the top of the head. "Hi, Nat," he said, moving as though to do the same to Natasha before the woman held a hand up, sharply.

"You gotta earn that, Stark."

"All right. I like a challenge," he said.

Natasha rolled her eyes as Pepper laughed. "You know you've done it now," Pepper said. "He thinks you mean it."

Tony rolled into the kitchen and busied himself in there.

Bruce returned with his book and sat in an armchair being unobtrusive. He accepted half a glass of wine when Pepper offered it.

Tony poked his head back in. "Irish coffee, anyone?"

Pepper raised her hand. "Decaf, please," she said.

"You should have decaf, too, Tony," Bruce said, without looking up from his book.

Tony groaned. "But there's whiskey in it. alcohol and caffeine cancel each other out."

"I can't even begin to enumerate all the ways in which that's blatantly false," Bruce said.

"I'll skip it. I don't think it'd go with the wine," said Natasha.

"Should I open another bottle?" Pepper asked, swirling the dregs of the first one.

"I wouldn't say no to another glass," said Bruce, quietly. Pepper smiled at him and went to get it.

By the time she got back, Tony was discussing Bruce's alleged flirting problem with Natasha.

"He just can't recognize a train, even when it's coming at his head," Tony said.

"Flirting is hardly a train," said Natasha. "But there are signs."

"None definitive, though," Bruce didn't look up from his book.

"Nope," Natasha agreed.

"Pretty close to definitive, though," said Pepper, thinking of April's warm body against her own on the dance floor the night before, seeing Bruce's pupils dilate when she'd touched April then watching him panic as April had touched him.

"Well, anyway, Stark, I'm not going to give Bruce flirting classes on your say-so," said Nat.

"Why not? Isn't that the sort of thing you do?"

"What *do* you think my job is, Stark?"

"You know...you do...uh....stuff."

"Nice save," Pepper said dryly, handing off the wine to Natasha, who whipped a swiss army knife out of some pocket on her person and used it to pry the bottle open. Tony gave this performance a pained look and brandished the house's wine opener at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and stood to refil Bruce's glass.

"Your problem," she said to Bruce, "is that step one of figuring out whether someone is flirting with you is to actually look at them, not at your own shoes."

Bruce gave a choked chuckle. "Yeah. That would be a problem for me."

"You want to know step two, we'll talk later," she said, setting the wine on the coffee table and leaning back into the sofa with her newly full glass.

"Mmm," Bruce said in acknowledgement, turning back to his book.

"Fuck it. We don't need her, Bruce. I'll teach you to flirt."

"I uh..."

Tony offered Bruce a hand up. Bruce shrugged at the women and took it, taking his wine glass and allowing himself to be dragged from the room as Pepper and Natasha giggled.

* * *

Tony dragged Bruce to the bedroom and sat him on the edge of the bed. "Okay, so like...first rule of flirting is to seem comfortable in your skin."

"Well, then I am already failing," said Bruce mildly.

"I don't mean you have to *be* comfortable in your skin," said Tony. "Just seem that way. Fake it till you make it, big guy."

"All right," Bruce leaned back, one hand pressed into the bed and sipped his wine nonchalantly. He grinned at Tony.

"See? That's already sexy as hell," said Tony. "The smile. The eye-contact and getting your mouth involved."

"Well, see I'd like it better if *your* mouth was involved," said Bruce.

"Hah. Good! Why do you think you don't know how to do this?" Tony asked. He sat next to Bruce on the bed.

"Tony, I know you. I know what's likely to be well-recieved. I know you're not going to brush me off or be grossed out or be offended."

"No one would be grossed out," Tony protested. "As for the other two, thick skin helps, and the ability to take no for an answer. Which, contrary to popular belief, I always have, in a bed arena."

Bruce snorted.

"I mean, sure, I didn't hear no that often, but I could take one if it was given."

"It's easier if I just presume the answer is no and act accordingly."

"Easier, maybe, but way less fun," said Tony.

"I like to respect other people's boundaries," insisted Bruce.

"This isn't about other people's boundaries. This is about you living small. That's not about respect, it's about fear."

Bruce closed his eyes slowly. He took a long, deep breath, held it then released it just as slowly.

"Yeah, maybe," he finally conceded.

"Hah. All right." Tony felt triumphant. "So, pretend you don't know me. We've just met. Let's say at some conference. Flirt with me."

"Do I not know who you are?" Bruce asked and tugged on a shirt cuff.

"I don't know. Do you?"

Bruce put his empty glass on a bedside table, then stood. He offered Tony his hand.

"Hello, Mr. Stark," he said. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Bruce."

"Hey, Bruce, did you want an autograph?"

Bruce smirked and rolled his eyes. "Actually, I wanted to ask you some questions about the arc reactor."

"Bzzt. Nope," said Tony, and took a step back. "Sounds like a business come-on, which is the wrong kind."

"Fine," Bruce sighed and rubbed the back of his neck staring down as he thought momentarily. He looked up again and smiled, stepping in and offering his hand again.

"Hi, there, Mr. Stark," he said. When Tony shook his hand, he felt Bruce's left hand brush lightly on the outside of his own right. Not keeping him in the handshake, but extending the touch. Bruce was staring into his eyes. "My name is Bruce. I really loved listening to you talk." At that, he let his eyes flick away from holding Tony's gaze, with a glance down at his mouth and a brief lick of his own lips.

"Muuuuch better." Tony grinned. "Keep it up."

"I always like to see someone speak whose as enthusiastic as they are intelligent," Bruce ventured. "I was hoping we could maybe...uh...get a drink and talk a while...if you have time?" He looked down and then smiled, loooking at Tony through his lowered lashes.

"Very good. See? You're doing great."

Bruce chuckled and shrugged. "I'm imitating what Pepper does when she wants to get you out of the lab."

Tony stopped short. "Fuck. She does n...absoulutely does that, damn. Think it'll still work?"

"Honestly? Yes," said Bruce. "You wouldn't want it to stop working, would you?"

Tony considered. "No. Not really."

"Anyway, Tony I don't need all this. If I am going to try to learn to flirt I need to learn to flirt like me, not like you or like Pepper."

"Absolutely. So what's like you? Sock it to me."

"I have no idea. What am I like?"

"For real?" Tony asked. He adjusted his body language - shoulders slumped, head lowered. "Now, to really do this right, my clothes would have to be two sizes too big," he teased.

Bruce rolled his eyes. "We'll take that as read."

"Hey, let me talk about science in a low sexy voice for like twenty minutes then look you in the eye long enough to impart something deeply and inappropriately personal," Tony said. "Which will bowl you over. Then I'll make it so I'm fun to poke at but you never actually get a rise out of me."

Bruce snorted. "I'm starting to think you only want me for my brain."

It was Tony's turn to roll his eyes. "No, you don't," he said, advancing on where Bruce sat on the edge of the bed, holding his gaze.

"No," Bruce agreed. "I don't."

Their lips met and Bruce only just saved the remaining wine from spilling all over the bedspread. He downed the last of it himself and tossed the glass over his shoulder. He and Bruce scooted up the bed, lips seeking each other's repeatedly along the way.

Bruce's eyes stayed open, gazing into Tony's as the kissing became a frantic scramble to free erections and to get their hands on one another. Still gazing into his eyes, Tony got his hand around Bruce's dick and started long, slow deliberate slides the way he knew he liked. Bruce kissed him again. "Fast," he said, hoarsely. "Harder."

Tony moaned barely daring to blink as he obeyed and Bruce gave his dick the same treatment. It didn't take either of them long to hit their heights under the circumstances. Bruce's hand groped for Tony's, a bit sticky as they kissed, again, then caught their breaths in the hovering silence.

"Shower?" Bruce asked.

"Better," Tony nodded.

They took a speedy and functional shower. Tony tossed the top blanket into the hamper, since they'd made kind of a mess of it, and Bruce pulled another one down from the linen closet.

"Should we leave Pepper alone or see if she is ready to come in?" Bruce asked.

"If we go back in there, Natasha will mock us," Tony said.

"And that will be different from usual how?"

"I'll deserve it. It'll be totally obvious what we've been up to."

"You'd usually fly in the face of that feeling," Bruce said. He leaned forward and peered into Tony's eyes then put a hand on his forehead.

"What are you doing?"

"Seeing if you're getting sick."

Tony laughed. "I'm not going back out there."

"I'll go," Bruce said. "I can take Natasha's barbs."

"No going green?" Tony asked him with a grin.

"I wouldn't be here if I couldn't handle pointy things."

Tony snorted. "That's what she said!" was his parting jibe, through the open door after Bruce.

He laid down and flipped on his tablet. It really had been a relaxing day. Probably needed one. Good for the brain.

He was lightly snoring with the tablet on his chest when Bruce returned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Thanks for saying nice things about this piece and inspiring me to pick it back up! There will be more to come!


End file.
